Bitcoin price rises ahead of Trump's speech at crypto summit
Bitcoin's (BTC-USD) price has surged ahead of US president Donald Trump's anticipated address at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York on Thursday.
Bitcoin rose more than 3% on Thursday to trade above $86,000 (£66,382), a 7% gain in the past week, according to CoinGecko data.
Trump's upcoming speech follows a significant policy move earlier in March, when he signed an executive order establishing the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). The order states that bitcoin deposited into the reserve will not be sold, but instead maintained as a long-term strategic asset to bolster the US's financial stability.
Joining the speaker lineup at DAS is Strategy's (MSTR) — formerly MicroStrategy — Michael Saylor, who will deliver a keynote speech, BlackRock's (BLK) head of digital assets Robbie Mitchnick and Nasdaq's (^IXIC) head of US equities & exchange-traded products Giang Bui.
Trump's participation was confirmed following comments from Bo Hines, executive director on digital assets for president Trump, who spoke at DAS earlier this week. Hines reiterated the administration's commitment to bitcoin accumulation for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, saying: "It's high time that our president started accumulating assets for the American people, which is what president Trump is doing rather than taking it away.'
Read more: Crypto live prices
In a post on X.com Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz said: 'When we started Blockworks, we could barely get someone from a bank to attend an event. Now we have a sitting US president addressing 2,500 institutional participants. It is incredible how far this industry has come."
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he wanted to position the US as the 'world's crypto capital.' In the summer of 2023, he spoke at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he hinted at plans to form a national bitcoin reserve.
Since taking office in January, he has signed executive orders instructing regulatory bodies to accommodate digital assets, established a White House crypto advisory team, and created both the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. He has also appointed pro-crypto figures to key regulatory positions, including the SEC and Treasury Department.
Bitcoin's price increase comes as the US Federal Reserve left its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive pause following three straight rate cuts in late 2024.
The Fed's latest economic projections indicate a slowdown, with 2025 GDP growth now expected at just 1.7%, down from December's 2.1% forecast. Growth projections for 2026 and 2027 have also been revised downward.
"Uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased," the US central bank said, likely referring to economic volatility stemming from Trump's proposed tariff policies.
Read more: What are bitcoin ETNs?
In addition to slowing growth, core PCE inflation is now forecasted at 2.8% for 2025, up from the previous 2.5% estimate. Projections for 2026 and 2027 remain at 2.2% and 2.0%, respectively.
The Fed's "dot plot" still continues to project two rate cuts by the end of this year. At Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee press conference, Fed chair Jerome Powell also announced that the central bank will slow the pace of its balance sheet reduction from April.
As part of this shift in quantitative tightening (QT), the Fed will lower the monthly cap on Treasury securities allowed to mature without reinvestment from $25bn (£19bn) to $5bn (£3.86bn), effective 1 April. When the Federal Reserve slows quantitative tightening or implements quantitative easing (QE), it injects liquidity into the financial system, which could lead to greater capital flows into riskier assets, such as bitcoin.
Read more:
Why pension funds are buying bitcoin
What we know about Elon Musk's controversial blockchain vision for US
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